Chapter 149: Chapter 148: The First Spirit Beast

Bai Zichen pictured himself riding the Cloud-Stepping White Deer.

’This kind of Spirit Beast seems more suited to an older Cultivator,’ he thought. ’For someone my age, it’s a little too... stuffy.’

Seeing Bai Zichen shake his head, Hu Yushan knew he wasn’t interested in the Cloud-Stepping White Deer. She simply brought out the Spirit Beasts from the two remaining boxes.

"A Tier Three Top-Grade Long-Armed White Ape cub, not even three years old... I was originally thinking that if no one bought it, I would make some arrangements and send it to the year-end Market auction."

A palm-sized white monkey hooked onto Hu Yushan’s arm, hopping about.

"Is that the Long-Armed White Ape, said to be able to pluck the stars and grasp the moon?"

Honglian exclaimed, clearly having heard of this Spirit Beast’s reputation.

Seeing that Bai Zichen still looked clueless, she explained to him, "Inside our Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, we have a scroll called the Ten Thousand Beasts List. It evaluates countless Demon Beasts, ranking them on their suitability as Spirit Beasts. Among all ape-type Demon Beasts, the Long-Armed White Ape is ranked in the top three."

"Its hide is like the Vajra Indestructible. Plucking stars and grasping the moon is an exaggeration, but moving mountains and shifting rivers is no lie. Its Divine Power is unmatched."

"Most importantly, the Long-Armed White Ape has extremely high Spiritual Wisdom and learns on its own. Its growth rate is among the fastest for a Tier Three Spirit Beast."

Bai Zichen looked at the little thing, unable to comprehend how it could grow into a terrifying White Ape capable of moving mountains and rivers.

"Normally, a Spirit Beast with a high chance of reaching Tier Three wouldn’t be sold so easily... However, this White Ape’s parents were slain by a Supreme Elder, so we won’t keep it on the mountain."

Hu Yushan stroked the Long-Armed White Ape, feeling it was a great pity.

If it stayed on Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, this Long-Armed White Ape cub would have a greater than fifty percent chance of becoming a Tier Three Spirit Beast in two or three hundred years.

But if it were sold, other Cultivators couldn’t possibly provide the same quality of care or draw upon the vast experience in raising Spirit Beasts that the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect has.

The Long-Armed White Ape would most likely stall at the Tier Two Peak.

"Then this Long-Armed White Ape cub... its price won’t be cheap, will it?"

"Eighteen thousand Spirit Stones, and it comes with a complete guide on raising ape-type Spirit Beasts, plus a complimentary Mid-Grade Spirit Beast Bag."

Hu Yushan’s eyes lit up. If she could close this deal, it would save a lot of costs.

Although the Market auction was also a Ten Thousand Beasts Sect enterprise, they still charged a commission on items submitted by other departments of the Sect.

If they wanted to position it as a finale item, they would have to pay an extra sum of Spirit Stones for the auction’s operational costs.

"That’s too expensive."

Bai Zichen had expected the price of the Long-Armed White Ape cub to be high, but this number still far exceeded his imagination.

It was more than ten times the price of the Supreme Cold White Serpent!

"It would take at least a hundred years of raising it to become a Tier Two Spirit Beast. The cost during that time would be immense... If it died prematurely, it would be a total loss."

"At Junior Brother Bai’s age, you can afford to wait for the Long-Armed White Ape to mature. In the future, you could even pass the White Ape down to your descendants as a Clan Guardian Spirit Beast."

Hu Yushan knew that most Cultivators would back out the moment they heard about a hundred-year growth period.

She tried another angle to be more persuasive.

"The best part is, the Long-Armed White Ape is much more intelligent than other Spirit Beasts of the same Tier. You could refine some simple Armor Spiritual Artifacts and teach it the trick to activating them with its Demon Power."

"With this, the Long-Armed White Ape would be like a tiger with wings. Cultivators of the same level would be no match for it."

"Eighteen thousand Spirit Stones is definitely not expensive. At an auction, if a Cultivator takes a fancy to it, it could sell for thirty or even forty thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Let’s see the last Spirit Beast."

Bai Zichen remained noncommittal.

’If I still need to rely on the fighting strength of a Tier Two Spirit Beast after a hundred years, I’d be a total failure.’

Of course, the real reason was that he couldn’t afford it.

’For eighteen thousand Spirit Stones, wouldn’t it be better to buy Elixirs to improve my Cultivation?’

Hu Yushan picked up the last Spirit Beast cub. It was a round, roly-poly ball of fluff, looking utterly charming and naive.

It had stubby arms and legs and fluffy black and white fur all over its body.

"A Tai Chi Bear. When fully grown, it’s a Tier Two Peak Demon Beast... However, this one’s bloodline is unusual; it’s mixed with the blood of another High-Tier Demon Beast."

Hu Yushan had a bit of a headache over this. The Tai Chi Bear was an extremely ferocious type of Demon Beast, and notoriously aggressive.

But this cub in the Spirit Beast Pavilion was at least twice as heavy as others of its kind, short and chubby, and from a distance, it looked like it didn’t even have a neck.

On a normal day, it would be panting after moving around for a bit, and then it would just lie on the ground, the very picture of laziness.

If the Sect’s Beast Masters hadn’t examined it carefully and confirmed that the cub was perfectly healthy, it would have been considered a defective, underdeveloped specimen.

The Beast Masters determined the cause of the cub’s unusual appearance and habits. They traced it to a sliver of another, unknown bloodline within its body.

It was likely a Tier Three Demon Beast bloodline, but it clashed with the Tai Chi Bear’s original bloodline.

Instead of a beneficial synergy, it actually weakened the Tai Chi Bear’s combat abilities.

"This little thing... it’s not just an ornamental Spirit Beast, is it?"

Bai Zichen looked at the strangely familiar round ball in front of him, poked it with his finger, and the black-and-white furball actually tucked in its limbs and started rolling in circles on the table.

Although it was quite cute, there was no way it could be related to a ferocious Demon Beast like the Tai Chi Bear.

"Rest assured, Junior Brother Bai. Although this Tai Chi Bear Demon Beast’s future combat strength might be a little weak, it has an additional Divine Technique."

Hu Yushan’s face flushed. To the disciples of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, who valued combat strength above all else, this mutated Tai Chi Beast was quite an embarrassment.

"I specifically asked Junior Martial Uncle Feng to examine it. This Tai Chi Bear is extremely sensitive to Spiritual Qi. It can even smell a Spirit Stone buried ten zhang deep."

"And as it grows, this ability will only get stronger. Junior Martial Uncle Feng said that it’s a treasure-hunting talent inherited from its bloodline, definitely at the Tier Three level."

"So, as long as this Tai Chi Bear grows normally to the Tier Two Peak, it will possess a Tier Three treasure-hunting ability."

Bai Zichen had crammed on common knowledge about the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect with Su Li’s help. He knew that "Junior Martial Uncle Feng," mentioned by Hu Yushan—a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator herself—was one of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect’s four Core Formation True Men.

Feng Moyun, Mid-Stage Core Formation, a Tier Four Low-Grade Beast Master.

His Lifebound Spiritual Beast was a Tier Three Top-Grade Floating Light Dove.

Like Master Ge Cang, he was considered one of the few Core Formation True Men with the best chance of breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

"Junior Brother Bai should know how sought-after Spirit Beasts with treasure-hunting abilities are. Every Cultivator dreams of raising one."

"What about the price? At the end of the day, it’s just a Tai Chi Bear cub. The so-called Tier Three bloodline treasure-hunting talent is just speculation."

As Bai Zichen prodded the Tai Chi Bear with his finger, he was already mostly convinced.

That was the judgment of a Tier Four Beast Master, one of the foremost experts on Demon Beasts in the entire Liang Country Cultivation Realm.

"Four thousand Spirit Stones, with a complimentary set of manuals for raising bear-type Spirit Beasts."

"Too expensive. Two thousand Spirit Stones and a Spirit Beast Bag."

Bai Zichen cut the price right in half, putting on an indifferent expression.

"Junior Brother Bai, at that price, I’d be taking a loss... Even a normal Tai Chi Bear cub costs more than that."

Hu Yushan picked up the roly-poly Tai Chi Bear. The little black-and-white furball tugged at the kerchief on her chest, revealing even more of her alluring cleavage.

"Besides, when a Tai Chi Bear grows up, it gets quite large. A normal Spirit Beast Bag won’t be comfortable for it... You’ll need to prepare a Mid-Grade Spirit Beast Bag."

"How about this: forty-five hundred Spirit Stones, and I’ll throw in a Mid-Grade Spirit Beast Bag and one hundred fresh Spiritual Bamboos, enough to feed it for a month."

’I’m from the Ink Bamboo Bai Family. If there’s one thing my clan has, it’s countless bamboos. Do I really need to buy them from you?’

Bai Zichen thought that he did indeed feel a connection with this Tai Chi Bear, and its treasure-hunting talent was particularly practical.

Unless it was a creature that could fight immediately, he didn’t really consider profound potential or powerful future combat strength to be advantages.

He was more interested in something with special Divine Techniques, or a Flying Spirit Beast.

"From the looks of it right now, it’s inferior to a normal Tai Chi Bear... Fellow Daoist Hu, if you’re serious about making this sale, then name a sincere price."

After a sharp exchange of words, with Honglian chiming in to help, they finally settled on a price of two thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones.

He didn’t take any of the other bundled products.

He could get things like Spirit Beast Bags from the Qingfeng Sect’s exchange. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Bai Zichen reluctantly took out the Mid-Grade Spirit Stones that had barely warmed up in his possession. Following the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion’s exchange rate for Spirit Stones that day, he counted out twenty-two of them.

Having closed two deals, Hu Yushan, all smiles, had someone bring over the corresponding raising manuals and a Spirit Beast Contract.

"Junior Brothers, you can try to form the contract with your Spirit Beasts now... It’s easiest while they’re newly born. A contract formed at this stage is almost impossible to sever in the future."

The service at the Spirit Beast Pavilion was quite good. At least, even after the transaction was complete, Hu Yushan was still conscientiously explaining the process of forging a Spirit Beast Contract.

"When forming a contract with an adult Demon Beast to turn it into a Spirit Beast, if your strengths are comparable, there’s a high chance of failure... Even if you succeed through force, the bond won’t be stable. When the Spirit Beast advances in rank, it can easily use its immense Demon Power to break the contract and regain its freedom."

"Cubs are different. At your current Realms, you have an absolute advantage. Once the contract is formed, every future advancement will actually strengthen it. This is why Spirit Beasts raised from a young age are willing to follow their agreement and guard their master’s Sect or Clan for centuries after their master passes away... The Spirit Beast Contract is deeply embedded in their Divine Soul; not even a Tier Three Spirit Beast can overcome it."

Bai Zichen followed the instructions, forcefully pricked his finger, and smeared his Essence Blood onto the Tai Chi Bear cub’s forehead.

At the same time, he tore open the crimson Spirit Beast Contract. A large character appeared and adhered to the spot where his finger and the cub’s forehead touched.

"A Flower Bird Talisman?"

Although he didn’t know the character’s meaning, he could recognize its style. It was the same as the Flower Bird Talismans on the Inheritance Stele; they definitely shared the same origin.

Hu Yushan looked over with a hint of surprise and added, "Junior Brother Bai, you’re quite knowledgeable to even recognize the Flower Bird Talisman... We at the Spirit Beast Pavilion only use this type of Flower Bird Talisman contract for Spirit Beasts that have the potential to advance to Tier Three. It has a stronger binding effect on the Spirit Beast, but of course, it’s also more expensive to create. Trace the character with your Essence Blood, and the contract will be complete!"

Bai Zichen did as she said. His fingertip moved slowly, tracing the Flower Bird Talisman character. The Essence Blood was suddenly sucked into the character, which then erupted with a mystical power and shot into the Tai Chi Bear’s head.

In the next instant, Bai Zichen felt a faint, almost imperceptible connection form between himself and the Tai Chi Bear cub.

With a single thought, he could transmit it into the Spirit Beast’s mind.

At the same time, a muddled feeling of dependence and affection was transmitted back to him, coming from the Tai Chi Bear cub that was barely a year old.

Su Li had also formed a Spirit Beast Contract with the Supreme Cold White Serpent. However, after the character formed by his Essence Blood was absorbed by the serpent’s egg, it only trembled slightly and still didn’t hatch.

According to Hu Yushan, the Supreme Cold White Serpent’s egg hadn’t accumulated enough nutrients yet and would probably need another ten to fifteen days to hatch.